The Aircraft Models of john ernst
Aichi D3A1 "Val" - 23.85" span; Dave Diels kit
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LG held on with mgnets

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White gel-pen used to draw markings onto the tissue before covering

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Tissue compression distorts 1/32 wing ribs.

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Training scheme colors really help to make this model 'stand-out' in a grass field.

     

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Although both wings suffered wing rib compression, it's most pronounced on the right panel.

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Launch at Wawayanda - boy, I need to go on a diet

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Picture perfect landing - in the drainage ditch

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This is the Dave Diels kit of the Aichi D3A1 'Val', and was built in Oct.-Nov., 2006.
 
One thing that I tried with this kit is to attach the LG with magnets so they could snap off on landing. The magnets worked very well, however, next time, I'd add some sheet infill on the bottom surface of the wing so the tissue wouldn't puncture every time the LG snapped back.
 
Also with this kit I had a problem with some wing warping. The outer wing panels were built with 1/32 ribs as per the kit. While this builds into a very light wing, it also, in my opinion, makes for a fragile structure. Even though I pre-shrink all my tissue before covering the plane, once on the plane, I 'mist' once more to tighten any small wrinkles that show up during covering. You can see from the photographs, the amount of compression the tissue created on the wing panel.
 
Despite the extreme 'wash-out' on the wingtips, this model was showing great promise recently at the FAC event in Wawayanda, NY. After several trimming flights, however, the over-stressed wing eventually turned into a bag of stick as the plane cart-wheeled across the field during some wind gusts. Of course, landing in the water filled drainage ditch didn't help the already warped wings very much.
 
To see the complete linup of Dave Diels kits, follow this link: